Things are calming down a bit here in New England as Hurricane Irene "mellowed out" a bit before getting to us. Still, wind and rain might force us to cancel our regular Monday morning bocce. I hope those of you in the hurricane's path escaped without too much damage.

Anyway, there's still a great deal of bocce happening in our area, and I hope yours too. We've got courts to build, events to run, and a 4th edition of the Joy of Bocce set to be released on September 15th - more news about that coming soon.

We ran a very successful Bocce on the Beach Tourney in Revere, Massachusetts that raised funds for the Rumney Marsh Memorial Burial Grounds. See this week's photos and video to get a feel for how things went. The tourney started during low tide and featured 24 teams all playing at the same time on 12 Backyard Bocce Courts.

The Perfetta Club Pro bocce sets are back in stock at Playaboule. Click the image to the right to view them and other excellent bocce and petanque products from Playaboule.com.

The Italian Imported Perfetta Club Pro sets consists of four 107 mm red bocce, four 107 mm green bocce, white pallino, and carry bag. These are an excellent value as they are extremely close to international standards and sell for the same price or less than four international standard size and weight balls (which usually come with pallino or carry bag as extras).

"The Bay Area has recently been granted a unique privilege and valuable opportunity that makes us the envy of the country and the world: being able to host the 2012 World Bocce Championships. But why is hosting the World Bocce Championships such a big deal?

The sport of Bocce has been spreading like wildfire throughout the United States, making its way into family households and everyday conversations. Its competitive nature of play has and will continue to be adopted by Americans of all ages because of the simple fact that anyone can play regardless of their athletic ability. All it takes is the ability to learn and the desire to have fun which makes Bocce the perfect game for families looking for a sport that adults and kids can play together, a great pastime for get-togethers and team-building events, or a great choice for an athlete looking to master a new sport.

Many are discovering just this, making Bocce the fastest growing sport in America with an estimated 25 million enthusiasts. Now it has come to the Bay Area as we play host to its most celebrated event, the World Championships.

Due to the success of the 2011 United States Bocce Championships in Livermore, California, Campo di Bocce of Livermore has been granted the rights to host the upcoming 2012 World Bocce Championships. The World Bocce Championships will consist of 20 to 30 national championship teams representing their home countries competing for the World Bocce Title. Countries will include but not be limited to: China, Italy, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, and each team will be bringing a minimum of 50 guests ranging from friends, family members, and loved ones. Upon arrival of the guest countries, Campo di Bocce will be hosting a welcome party and parade through downtown Livermore, tours of Livermore wine country and the great local attractions of the San Francisco Bay Area, all championship play, and a closing ceremony and party at the conclusion of the event.

The Ronald McDonald House at Stanford Charity has been selected as the 2012 World Bocce Championship sponsor beneficiary. As per a partnership set-up between Campo di Bocce, the United States Bocce Federation, and the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford Charity, 10% of all sponsor dollars will be immediately donated to the Ronald McDonald House to help benefit the well being of children from around the world.

'Bocce only takes five minutes to learn... but a lifetime to master' explains international competitor Ben Musolf when asked what is the true allure of Bocce. The sport of Bocce is taking over America and its main event has now come to our backyard and will only better our local communities and promote our businesses. For the duration of the 2012 World Bocce Championships, all matches and play will be open to the public with free admission and spectators are invited to watch the professional Bocce players compete on the global level."

Belated notice to you re: 'Bocce Day' in Indianapolis...eight days after 08/13/2011. Bocce, balinca....the same game by different name. Hope you find the attached article informative re: Italians and Slovenes having 'friendly' matches, with food and conversation.

*Na zdravje/to your health.

The Italian, Joe Giacoletti, 63 goes head to head in bocce and with the interviewer...

Joe says "The food competition will be more fierce and fun than the bocce."

Later he adds "It's basically a very simple game, and it's appealing because it's anti-technology. There are no electronics, no telephones, no Internet and no computer. Just eight balls, a pallino and dirt."

Josef Laposa, the Slovenian, 59

Counters with his favorite drink: "Slivovitsa, or plum brandy, as it's more commonly known."

Later adds why he loves the game: "Each time it's different. Losing can be great for your sense of humility -- of course, you always feel motivated to do better. But you'll never be perfect."

"The Vermont State Bocce Championship is Saturday, September 17 (doubles) and Sunday, September 18 (singles). Matches are at the bocce courts in Oakledge Park. They start at 9am, with courtside registration ending at 8:45am. The fee for each event is $15.00 for
BBC members and $25.00 for non-members. For more information: zponzo@uvm.edu and burlingtonbocce.com."

"I look forward to learning more about the game of Bocce, its history, and the evolution of Bocce balls.

I have visited Italy a few times when we taught at Asolo (about 1 hour NW of Venice) in the Veneto region. We were always amazed at the older gentlemen playing Bocce. I ended up buying a vintage set imported from Italy by Sportcraft in the early 1960s. They appear to be wood balls and I know that many are made out of resin now. Look forward to enjoying them and learning more about the game."

{Of course a good place to start is with this ezine and my website - http://www.JoyofBocce.com or other websites like the USBF's Bocce.com or Boccemon.com or IBocce.com. For info on bocce balls check Playaboule.com or this one detailing the nailed boules of France...

Joy of Bocce published by Mountain Lion Inc. will be released in September.

I landed a publisher for the Joy of Bocce (no easy task nowadays), so I am hoping to clear the inventory of a couple cases of the 3rd edition. If you'd like "such a deal" on a copy or multiple copies, shoot me an email - Mario@joyofbocce.com . Copies can be purchased for as little as $10 per copy plus shipping.

We should all be card carrying members. Every club should be affiliated. For the sport to gain the attention it needs we need to boast of many thousands of members. Download a USBF Membership Application here:

This week's photos are from our highly successful Bocce on the Beach fund-raiser which raised funds for the Rumney Marsh Memorial Burial Ground in Revere, Massachusetts. We set up 12 courts at low tide and had 24 four-player teams playing all at the same time.

The link below is for photos taken by Arthur Zachai who says...

"Hi BocceGuy,

I'm one of the guys that was taking pictures at Revere Beach. Some shots
are here:

I’ve seen all kinds of home-made court maintenance brushes and scrapers. Two things have always struck me about them. 1 – they look like they are home-made and 2 – they tend to be HEAVY.

7' Drag Brush

Manufactured by Lee Tennis (makers of the Har-Tru surface material), this court maintenance tool created for tennis courts works exceptionally well for bocce courts. The 7-foot drag brush is light-weight and, even if you have a 13- or 14-foot wide court, you can smooth it over with just two passes. This is quick enough to do between games without keeping players waiting very long.

Bristles are 4 ˝ inches of synthetic fibers and the strong but light-weight frame is aluminum. Retails for $189.95 plus shipping.

Lute/scarifier

This strangely named 30” wide device is actually two implements in one. It is an all-aluminum combination tool for scarifying, leveling, and removing loose court material.

Strong and sturdy, the tool is light enough to handle with ease and is excellent for spreading new material during top-dressing. The concave shape of the 30” wide blade allows the tool to “float” along the surface without digging in. Use the serrated edge to scrape material from high spots, then flip the tool over to rake and smooth that spot and drag the loose material to fill in a lower point. Retails for $69.95 plus shipping.

Besides a heavy roller, the lute/scarifier and 7-foot drag brush should be all the maintenance tools a bocce court owner needs.

Bocce aficionado Michael Delucchi is bringing a great new product to market. The Bocce Caddy can help those of us with bad backs to effortlessly pick up bocce balls. Lightweight yet durable, it can pick up two bocce balls at once.

Please - anyone running a tournament - do me a favor - put a notice near your tourney bracket board informing players that they can go to http://www.joyofbocce.com and "opt in" for my FREE Ezine on bocce. Click the logo to the right to opt in if you do not already receive this ezine every Monday.

Please consider designating someone as "official event photographer" and directing that person to send snapshots for us to reproduce as photos of the week. Our readers love seeing bocce action from around the continent.

Check out the first-rate equipment we offer. The finest measuring devices for bocce (made in UK by Prohawk for lawn bowling, petanque, and bocce) - the finest bocce balls in the world (made in Italy by Perfetta) and the number one selling instructional book on bocce in America - Check them out.Check out the merchandise